


Bonfires and Beaches

by LightRedFox



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Beach Day, Bonfires, Can be shippy if you squint?, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Multi, beach, no beta we die like men, platonic alorai I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24510988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightRedFox/pseuds/LightRedFox
Summary: The Pink and Yellow Green teams have a beach day together.
Relationships: Bamboo/Stealth (Splatoon), Octoglasses/Straw (Splatoon), Snorkel/Uniform (Splatoon)
Kudos: 15
Collections: CoroikaCollection





	Bonfires and Beaches

Rider tossed a rather large branch into the bonfire in front of him, feeding the flames as it hungrily jumped on its new meal. The orange glow on his surroundings grew brighter, basking everything in a lovely warmth, from the inklings next to him to the neverending sea beyond his reach. The sound of crashing waves mixed with the soft laughter from all around him made Rider feel at ease. It was a familiar yet foreign feeling, but he welcomed it all the same.

As the sounds began to blend together into an odd static, his mind wandered to the start of the day, when they had first arrived at the beach, and the sun was still high up in the sky.

Blazer had been seeing Scuba a lot lately, and it wasn’t a surprise that she’d been invited to go with him to the beach for a day of “fun in the sun”. What was surprising was that the rest of the team had been invited too, including him.

He had to admit, he wasn’t fond of Aloha or his teammates for the matter, and spending a day in their vicinity seemed like a waste of time. But, Blazer was ecstatic at the prospect of dragging the entire team with her for a beach day, and he wasn’t an asshole (not as much as he used to be anyway) about to trample over that excitement.

So there they were, in the early morning, under the scorching heat of the sun with no clouds in sight, only seagulls flapping their wings overhead. Blazer dragged Bamboo to a more scenic location for a quick photo as he and Stealth unloaded the bags they had brought with them, mostly consisting of spare changes of clothes and towels.

When Blazer and Bamboo came back, they did so with new company. The former chatted eagerly with Octoglasses, whose eyes lit up when she saw the others.

“Woah, you guys actually came! I was only expecting Blazer, so this is a nice surprise.”

Rider grunted in reply as the pink inkling began to go on and on about the sights and spots to look out for on the beach as she led them up an elevated plane.

The sandy area next to the saltwater was basically the pink team’s natural habitat. They were there almost everyday, from what Octoglasses had told mentioned, and he wouldn’t be surprised if they lived on the beach.

...Which apparently they did, since they were led by the pink girl to a beach house owned by her team. An extremely nice one, in fact. The beach house was located on a hill just a short walk away from the beach, where the sand met with the grass and dirt. The passed through the large front yard strewn with used cups and plates from what he assumed was the most recent party Aloha held.

It was a two story house that already seemed big on the outside, but the inside was on a whole other scale. Large glass windows faced outwards, towards a breathtaking view of the ocean. The spacious first floor had no walls separating the different areas, which meant the kitchen was only ever five steps away from the living room.

Scuba looked up from his sports game the moment the glass sliding doors were opened, and his eyes filled with newfound excitement, rushing at them the moment they stepped inside to wrap his arms around Blazer and lift her up to peck both her cheeks, recieving a smack on the chest from the flustered girl when he attempted to steal a full kiss on the lips.

“Glad you all made it!” He grinned, finally setting the yellow green girl down after a few more smacks to the chest.

“You live here?” Stealth was dumbfounded, looking all around the house in awe.

“Yep, moved in with the rest of the team about two years ago.”

“Must be expensive to own a place like this.” Bamboo surmised, eyes also jumping around to soak in the surroundings.

“Loha’s parents co-own Mahi-Mahi, so they’re stacked. They don’t really care about what he does as long as it ain’t illegal, so we’re free to party all we like.”

“We even have a speedboat out near the dock if you ever wanna go for a joyride.” OG added, jerking a thumb towards the barely visible dock surrounded by white boats of all sizes.

Straw appeared from above, going halfway down the staircase leading up to the second floor as she waved to the guests in greeting.

“Sorry, Loha’s out cold in his room right now, but he’ll be awake later. It’s high tide right now, so we should wait for the waves to calm down a bit and for him to wake up before heading down to the shore.” She made a gesturing motion to the entire room. “You guys can rest up in the guestroom or down here until then, I can give you a small tour!”

Scuba had already enveloped his girlfriend in a tight hug and plopped both of them back in front of the TV, so the other three yellow green members followed Straw up the staircase, OG staying behind to grab a snack from the kitchen.

The upstairs floor was a more familiar sight to Rider, resembling the interior of a house you’d think was in the city and not on a beach. Unlike the first floor, there were walls that separated the rooms, which included several bedrooms, one or two bathrooms and a laundry to boot. Some framed pictures of the scenic beach and the pink team hung along the corridor, and Rider snickered a bit when he saw an older one that was a team picture taken at Mahi-Mahi, where Aloha still had his old tied up hairstyle. He really did look bald back then.

The bedroom Straw led them to was slightly barren, but still incredibly appealing. The bed was a huge queen size, a solid 20 inch TV rested directly in front of it, and there was even a mini fridge right below the bedside table. The walls facing outwards were glass, showing a clear view of the ocean from a higher angle. Rider really felt like he was in a hotel room from the fanciest resort in the world.

“Sorry there’s only one guest room available, the other one got fucked up two parties ago and Aloha’s still trying to find a guy to fix it.” Straw waved off her words nonchantly and closed the door shut with a quick “See ya!”

Bamboo dropped the bags she was carrying and flopped onto the bed as she muffled something about turning the air conditioning on. Stealth took a seat next to her and rubbed circles on her tentacles, the inkling letting out hums of approval. Guess that meant he was sitting on the floor.

He opened the fridge and grabbed a lime soda before sitting down in front of the clear walls, cracking the can open with a hiss and taking a few gulps of the drink before sighing and looking out the glass towards the beach below.

He could make out a few brightly colored shapes already heading down towards the sand, meaning that some inklings were already starting their beach day early. He wouldn’t have minded going straight to the shore either, since he had no plans of staying that long, but he supposed relaxing in a luxurious beach house wasn’t the worst.

xxx

Straw had declared the water low enough about an hour later, conveniently a bit after Aloha had woken up and gave a late greeting to them. Honestly, if Rider had had it his way, Aloha would’ve never shown his face and he’d have to deal with one less pink inkling that day. But the party animal wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to annoy him, so the only thing he could do was bear with it until they parted ways.

Unfortunately for Rider, Aloha decided to walk right next to him for the trip down to the shore. Straw and OG had run ahead to save a good location, dragging Stealth with them to carry all their bags much to the octoling’s dismay. Scuba seemed unable to keep his hands to himself as he tried to snake one around Blazer’s waist, the girl continuously swatting it away in favor of keeping up her conversation with Bamboo. Why the pink leader had chosen to be next to him of all people was a mystery.

“You been here before?” Aloha grinned, arms behind his back as he felt the sea breeze hit his body.

“No, I don’t go to many beaches in general.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat. Even if this is a public beach, not many people wanna drive all the way from Inkopolis, so the only people who go here regularly live up in the hills or are tourists.”

“What’s so fun about going here anyway? Sure you could take nice photos, but sand is hard to clean off, and we can’t even swim.”

“It’s the aesthetic, ya know? Relaxing under the warm weather surrounded by cute girls and guys, watching the waves rock the buoys while sipping on a tropical fruit smoothie; Mix it all together and you get the best day of your life, which is everyday for me.”

Rider only found about half of those things appealing, but wasn’t in the mood to argue, so the rest of the walk was silence between them as the group followed the wooden beachwalk towards the shore. The smell of ocean salt in the air became stronger and stronger, until the line of wooden planks attached to the ground stopped, and at the end was a large expanse of pure white sand, a vast, endless sea right behind it.

The first thing he noticed was the large amount of souvenir shops near the entrance, tourist traps he presumed. A few inklings and jellyfish were outside the shops, eyeing items like shirts, stuffed toys and magnets, all overpriced. Rider had to pass.

There were some restaurants further down the beach, and a quick glance at a menu outside was all Rider needed to know that they were just as overpriced as the souvenir shops. 5,000 coins for a burger meal? Shell no. Good thing they had packed lunch in advance.

Next to the rental station for jet skis and other swimming necessities were mini pool bars near the water, the chairs raised high so that customers could splash or soak their legs in the cool water while sipping their drinks. Not like they could even order things from there; they still weren’t old enough to drink.

Rider also took note of the large number of jellyfish lifeguards on standby, both on the lifeguard towers and near the dock next to numerous water skis, ready to act on a moment's notice. He figured it was normal due to how frequently inklings tried to swim, and drowned as a result. Heck, he even remembered a few being on duty in Mahi Mahi because so many inklings kept trying to jump into the pool. Well, at least they were a reassuring sight.

Straw and Octoglasses waved them over from their spot on the beach, both laying stomach down on a blanket they had set up under the shade of a beach parasol. Stealth was relaxing on one of the beach chairs next to them, enjoying the weather with his helmet on his lap.

“About time you guys showed up, we picked a spot that’s in the middle of everything so you can choose where to start!”

Where to start, huh? He supposed there really were a lot of things you could do at a beach, though none of them immediately appealed to the yellow green inkling.

“Blaze and I will take a dip in the water.” Scuba grinned, rudely snatching said inkling from her conversation with Bamboo, and making a beeline for the sea with the shorter girl over his shoulder.

“Guess I’m just staying here.” Bam sighed, taking a seat on the beach chair next to Stealth, who looked up when she had sat down.

“We’ll be on the volleyball court if you need us!” Straw and OG stood up from their previous positions and waved the rest of them off before running off towards the volleyball net to join some random inklings in a match.

“What are you gonna do, Rider?” Aloha asked playfully.

“Don’t know. Probably just stay here for a while. You?”

“Well, I figured I’d catch some waves.” He pointed at the rental shop as he said so. “Baywatch got real pissed at me last time I fell overboard, so now I need to use their shitty surfboards and wear some stupid lifevest. It’s still fun though.”

“Good luck with that.” Rider replied before Aloha ran off to get whatever he needed. The inkling took a seat on the abandoned beach blanket, opening one of the bags to fish for some food and pulling out some packed onigiri (not umeboshi flavored). He began to chow down on it while looking around the crowded beach.

Bamboo was adamant about not showing any skin, or maybe the chilly breeze was too much for her to handle, because she wore a long sleeved rash guard and regular swimming shorts as she laid down on the beach chair she had picked out, with zero intention of stepping foot into the water. Stealth kept her company, electing to make a sandcastle to keep them entertained. He was failing horribly, and Bamboo was watching in amusement as he tried to get the bucket to form a rectangular shape only for it to crumble immediately.

Scuba had essentially thrown Blazer into the shallow part of the water, much to her annoyance, but soon enough they were both laughing at each other as they continuously splashed the other playfully in a mini water fight.

The girls from the pink team had finished their volleyball game already, and were happily chatting with each other at a beach bar, seemingly sharing a fruit smoothie judging from the two plastic straws inside it.

And as for Aloha...he was certainly an odd one. He was probably just as crazy as the type of shoes he wore, since not even Rider could fathom risking his life surfing a big wave simply to impress people.

Speaking of the pink inkling, he returned to the spot where Rider was resting with a plain pink surfboard in hand, and a big lifejacket tightly buckled around his waist. Rider chuckled at how ridiculous the party animal looked, and got a glare as Aloha passed by, making sure to smack Rider with the edge of the board before running as fast as he could towards the shore.

Rider scowled as the pink inkling’s figure got smaller and smaller, paddling himself further out into the water until he neared the buoys set up for safety. A few inklings on the shore murmured to each other at the sight of an inkling surfer, and soon a small crowd had formed near the shallow water.

Rider spent a good 30 minutes contemplating whether he should watch Aloha surf or not before the sound of cheers in front of him attracted his attention. Curiosity got the best of him as he stood up from his seat and joined the crowd. A rational part of him was concerned for the pink inkling’s well being, due to being so far away, and inherently not being able to swim. But he shoved those feelings down when he decided that he did not, infact, care if Aloha drowned trying to surf another big wave. Though it turns out he never had to worry about anything; the pink inkling was graceful while riding the water even with the restrictive lifevest, never once losing balance and occasionally even doing handstands and other party tricks if he felt daring. His bravery was admirable, in that aspect.

Rider didn’t know why he was so impressed with the way Aloha rode a wave, controlling the water like it obeyed his every command. Maybe it was because he could see how much effort Aloha put into learning the skill, or it was simply mesmerizing to watch. He could see clear as day that the pink inkling was no ameteur, and in that regard, Rider had respect for him for once. The honing of a craft was a tiring and struggle filled process, in Rider’s case, mastering the dynamo was the result of years of rigorous training. So seeing a master practicing what they honed for years, it was absolutely breathtaking.

Rider never planned to stay past sunset, but by the time he and Blazer had won the chicken fight against Scuba and OG, the sky had already turned orange, only about a third of it still visible but slowly sinking. Stealth had immediately offered to start a bonfire, and Octoglasses backed up the idea with the thought of roasting marshmallows and singing songs. That was how the roaring flame had come to life, after the rest of them had gathered enough sticks and dry wood.

Said bonfire was coming along nicely, lighting up the otherwise dark and starry night sky. The flames jumped around the pile of wood stacked underneath it, embers flicking up into the air harmlessly.

And that brought Rider back to the present. He had to admit, despite the odd company, it was soothing to simply sit down in front of a warm fire, soft sand underneath him as his worries melted away.

The day had been unexpectedly pleasant. Blazer dragged him and his other teammates to multiple activities after Aloha’s surfing show got cut when he threw off his lifejacket, immediately fell off and the coast guard pulled him out of the water. It was amusing, to say the least. The rest of the day was spent playing sports, eating, (window) shopping, splashing in the water, and just having a good time in general. His friends were having fun, and he-well he wouldn't go so far as to say the same, but it felt...nice.

A small strumming sound caught his attention, and he looked to his right to see Aloha tinkering with a small pink ukulele, adjusting the knobs at the end.

“Dude, stop messing with the strings or else everything you play is gonna sound like squit.” Scuba warned, toasting a few marshmallows while Blazer prepared some graham crackers and chocolate next to him to make smores.

“It’s gonna sound bad no matter what.” Octoglasses snickered, Straw laying her head on her lap as she stretched herself out on the rest of the log.

“We’ll see about that. Any requests?”

“Umm, that one human song that was written by a train. The one with the strumming at the start.”

“Straw, they all have strumming.” Aloha rolled his eyes, but he seemed to know what song the girl was talking about because he began to strum the intro lightly.

“Oh I know this one! It’s the one that goes ‘Heyey’!”

Aloha smiled at the confirmation and began to strum louder, humming the intro before breaking out into full on singing. The rest of the pink team followed, then Blazer, then Stealth began to hum the lyrics once he got the hang of the tune. Bamboo and Rider kept their mouth’s shut, but even they were tapping their feet to the rhythm.

Rider savored the moment. The way everyone sang or hummed along to the songs, the laughter whenever someone burnt a marshmallow one too many times, the way Aloha looked so happy playing the ukulele as the night went on and on...

He would cherish this moment for a long time.


End file.
